I’m going to provide an example of one of my rejected nominations so you can see the kind of details that make this category most useful.
Rejection reasons:
Title: Jefferson City Pool
Description: Run by the city of Jefferson, this public pool is open to all city residents for a small daily entry fee.
Main Photo:
Supplemental: Municipal run pools are one of the few types of pools allowed and encouraged by Niantic. They allow the whole city to be social and get exercise.
Supplemental Photo:
Low quality photo? Not really. Is it the best photo you’ve ever seen? No. But I intentionally included the sign and the pool so people could tell that this is the public pool I claim it is.
This was rejected back when it used to actually be Temporary/Seasonal. I think reviewers incorrectly marked this as seasonal because the cover is on the pool. That should not matter. Niantic has said that public pools are eligible - not many outdoor pools are open year-round. They will be closed sometimes.
Ultimately, I think reviewers just made a bad decision here and I need to appeal it. But I volunteer to have y’all beat me up so I can show others how this Nomination Support process works.
I have always thought that Niantic has always worded the swimming pool clarifications in that the actual physical pool with water in it is ineligible unless it is dedicated to a famous swimmer. That being said I have also always thought that what they meant for us to do is to nominate the pool house, Clubhouse, outside Gathering area for the swimming pool as the nomination. To me this would make sense as to the confusion over multiple clarifications over the years.
I think it’s because the cover’s on too and really comes down to personal preference of reviewers who probably would have preferred just the sign in the photo, which I think is why you got that reason too.
Not saying it’s right, but I would just try again with a photo of the sign if it’s still out of season
I find addressing the fact that these aren’t valid rejection reasons and stating that a better photo can easily be added later, often gets a pass on this sort of thing, for me
Edit: Didn’t realise who I was replying to here lol
I agree, that is a gorgeous shot. However, i was in this town for just a few hours. I couldn’t make the pool look more appealing than this. It had a cover on it, and many people reject photos of pools with covers simply becausr they dont think the image is pretty. “Pretty” is not the standard. “I can tell what and where this is” is the standard for photos.
I dont disagree with you that “thats the way it is” but that is not how it should be. Having a conversation like this should hopefully educate reviewers that they are applying standards beyond Niantic’s.
Or, we could try to educate reviewers that what they “want” doesn’t matter. They need to learn to live with “good enough” and not ask for perfection. In my Wayfarer journey, i used to be far more critical than i am now. Getting a perspective on the world outside of my suburban bubble helped me realize that what is eligible is a far greater scale than what i personally encounter in my life. And it does no one any good to reject over silly issues if the POI is eligble.
I would have accepted that. The picture clearly shows both the item and a sign for the item as a bonus! It isnt blurry and meets no rejection criteria. Not every picture can be beautiful.
Absolutely! I actually quite enjoy getting prettier pictures added to pokestops especially getting one that centres nicely onto the circular stop frame. Also nice for things that look best at night but of course its difficult to submit an item with a night shot originally, so those seem best done as an edit later
I believe all reviewers need some sort of continuous feedback to help them maintain reasonable judgement and perspective.
Typically the nominator gets feedback aplenty, but it isn’t necessarily accurate or useful.
Every nomination is actually a sort of ‘curation’ where the nominator - who has identified an experience or activity or venue - attempts to distill an essence that others will want to share.
Sometimes the location’s official title already appears on Google Maps, or on a sign-board. Sometimes no description is necessary, other times it is vital.
Supplemental info can provide links or assertions of eligibility. Reviewers may or may not even look at these.
Ultimately, everything seems to hinge on the primary photo. Niantic advises us to ‘show off our photography skills’ but the rest of their guidance leads us toward taking photos of plain/ugly signs and plaques because these things can serve as a proxy for the venue and provide proof that everything is above-board.
Reviewers who claim the above photo is ‘blurry’ are falling into a common error. The cyclone fence induces a distortion in how we perceive the scene beyond. Since the sign is on the fence, we can’t avoid showing the fence unless we frame only the sign.
Typically, the nominator must submit a super-clear tight clean image of the signboard (with maybe a little of the fence/wall/background to establish the location), and try to take a beautiful support photo that truly puts the sign into context. After the nomination is accepted they may submit the supporting photo as an edit.
The result? All of Lightship is full of pictures of signs. Some of them are supplemented by beautiful pictures that have been added in after the fact.
here and I need to appeal it. But I volunteer to have y’all beat me up so I can show others how this Nomination Support process works.
